Jeff Kolkey writes about issues, trends and public safety in Rockford and Winnebago County.

Machesney Park murder suspect could poll Winnebago County residents

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By Jeff Kolkey

Jeff Kolkey writes about issues and trends in Rockford and Winnebago County. He also covers major breaking crime and fire news, notable criminal trials and the trends beyond the headlines that shape the region. A graduate of Northern Illinois
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Jeff Kolkey writes about issues and trends in Rockford and Winnebago County. He also covers major breaking crime and fire news, notable criminal trials and the trends beyond the headlines that shape the region. A graduate of Northern Illinois University, Kolkey lives in Rockford with his family. He has covered education, the city of Rockford and other beats for the Rockford Register Star since October 2005.

Todd C. Smith could ask Judge John Truitt for permission to conduct a poll of Winnebago County residents as he becomes the latest murder suspect to complain about pretrial publicity in an attempt to move his case out of the county.

Presumably the poll would attempt to determine how widespread knowledge among potential jurors is concerning the October 2012 disappearance of 30-year-old Katrina Smith, her slaying and the subsequent arrest of her husband, Todd C. Smith, 46, of Machesney Park.

Smith plans to argue that the trial should move to another county because publicity in Winnebago County about the case makes it impossible for him to get a fair trial here.

PHOTO PROVIDED

Katrina A. Smith, 30, of Machesney Park was found in November 2012 slain in the Rock River near Bryron.

Smith's court-appointed lawyer, Assistant Public Defender Margie O'Connor, was expected to meet with an expert pollster today to discuss it, according to court records.

O'Connor did not return a phone call seeking comment.

But rulings in other recent cases make it clear pretrial publicity alone is not enough to warrant a change of venue.

For example, during a Marie's Pizza murder trial, Judge Gary Pumilia ruled that mere knowledge of a case was not enough to disqualify potential jurors. Only if the juror had drawn conclusions based on what he or she had read, or if he or she was unable to set aside preconceived notions, and was unable to evaluate the case only on evidence presented at trial did Pumilia dismiss jurors.

Katrina's disappearance sparked a community outcry and significant media coverage in the weeks before she was found. There was a candlelight vigil, a billboard seeking information and fliers distributed.

Dozens of people volunteered to help search for her for days after she was reported missing Oct. 23, 2012. Finally on Nov. 9, 2012, her body was discovered by an off-duty fireman fishing in the Rock River near Byron.

Smith's lawyer argues that all the attention raises"reasonable fear" jurors will have drawn preconceived conclusions about the case.

"Media has exposed facts about the defendant that they would not otherwise know such as the defendant's very old arson conviction," O'Connor argues in court documents. "They also exposed the fact that the defendant has changed his name since that conviction. The media exposed the fact that the victims of the arson were family members which the victim in this matter is a family member."